Secure device sharing

ABSTRACT

A device and method for placing the device in a locked state having an associated set of permitted tasks so as to permit the device owner to share the device with others but maintain security over aspects of the device. A task change request is evaluated to determine whether the requested task is permitted and, if so, the requested task is allowed; if not, then an authorization process is invoked to prompt the user to input authorization data. Upon verification of the authorization data, the device may be unlocked and the requested change implemented. The permitted tasks may designate specific applications, specific operations or functions within applications or at the operating system level, one or more currently open windows, and other levels of granularity.

FIELD OF THE APPLICATION

The present application relates to electronic user-interactive devicesand, in particular, to methods and systems for enabling sharing of suchdevices with other users without compromising security.

BACKGROUND

Security is an issue with most sophisticated electronic devices,especially handheld or mobile devices. Over time, these devices havebegun to offer greater levels of functionality and a wider range ofapplications, including gaming, voice call capability, e-mail, instantmessaging, and document creation. This has led to a greater desire toshare the devices with others for limited purposes. For example, adevice owner may only wish to share the device with colleagues for thepurpose of allowing them to view a particular e-mail message. As anotherexample, the device owner may only wish to share the device withchildren for the purpose of gaming without allowing them access toe-mail or other messaging applications. In yet another example, thedevice owner may wish to share the device with a colleague to make avoice call without allowing access to e-mail or other applications.

Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide a method or mechanismto facilitate sharing of a device without compromising security.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanyingdrawings which show an embodiment of the present application, and inwhich:

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of an embodiment of a mobile device havingsharing security;

FIG. 2 shows, diagrammatically, architecture of one embodiment of amobile device having sharing security;

FIG. 3 shows a front view of the display of one embodiment of a mobiledevice having sharing security;

FIG. 4 shows, in flowchart form, one embodiment of a method of locking amobile device for sharing purposes;

FIG. 5 shows, in flowchart form, one embodiment of a method of switchingtasks on a locked mobile device;

FIG. 6 shows, in flowchart form, a further embodiment of a method ofswitching tasks on a locked mobile device; and

FIG. 7 shows, diagrammatically, architecture of a further embodiment ofa mobile device having sharing security.

Similar reference numerals are used in different figures to denotesimilar components.

DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS

The present application provides a device and a method for placing adevice in a locked state having an associated set of permitted tasks soas to permit the device owner to share the device with others butmaintain security over aspects of the device. The user of a lockeddevice may only perform tasks that are permitted without unlocking thedevice. A task change request is evaluated to determine whether therequested task is permitted and, if not, then an authorization window isopened to prompt the user to input authorization data. Upon verificationof the authorization data, the device may be unlocked and the requestedchange executed. The permitted tasks may designate specificapplications, specific operations or functions within applications or atthe operating system level, one or more currently open windows, or otherlevels of granularity. Task change API calls by a task changer, such asa task switcher or window launcher, may be evaluated by a processcontrol level of the operating system to determine whether the requestedtask change is permitted. If the task is not permitted, then the APIcall may be failed and the task changer may re-call the task change APIsupplemented with an argument containing the authorization data input bythe user.

In one aspect, the present application provides a method of securing anelectronic device to enable a user to share the device with anotherperson. The device has an operating system and the device is placed in alocked state. The locked state is associated with permitted taskinformation. The method includes steps of receiving a user request toactivate a selected task, identifying the locked state of the device,and determining whether the selected task is permitted based upon thepermitted task information and, if so, activating the selected task.

In another aspect the present application provides an electronic device.The device has a locked state and an unlocked state. The locked state isassociated with permitted task information. The device includes a mainbody having a user input device, a display, memory, and a processoroperatively coupled to the user input device, the display and thememory. It also includes an operating system running on the processorfor managing input and output through the user input device and thedisplay and providing a platform for operation of application programs.The operating system is configured to receive a user request to changeto a selected task. The device also includes a task request componentfor identifying that the device is in the locked state and fordetermining whether the selected task is permitted based upon thepermitted task information and, if so, activating the selected task.

In another aspect, the present application describes a method ofsecuring an electronic device to enable a user to share the device withanother person. The device has an operating system. The method includesthe steps of receiving a request to lock the device, setting a lockindicator to establish the locked state of the device, and associatingpermitted task information with a locked state of the device The methodalso includes steps of receiving a user request to activate a selectedtask, identifying the locked state of the device, and reading thepermitted task information and determining whether the selected task ispermitted based upon the permitted task information and, if so,activating the selected task.

In yet another aspect, the present application provides an electronicdevice. The device has a locked state and an unlocked state. The deviceincludes a main body housing a user input device, a display, memory, anda processor operatively coupled to the user input device, the displayand the memory. The device also includes an operating system running onthe processor for managing input and output through the user inputdevice and the display and providing a platform for operation ofapplication programs, wherein the operating system is configured toreceive a user request to change to a selected task. Also includes inthe device are a locking component for receiving a request to lock thedevice, setting a lock indicator to establish the locked state of thedevice, and associating permitted task information with the locked stateof the device, and a task request component for identifying that thedevice is in the locked state and for determining whether the selectedtask is permitted based upon the permitted task information and, if so,activating the selected task.

In yet a further aspect, the present application provides a computerprogram product for securing an electronic device to enable a user toshare the device with another person. The computer program productincludes a computer-readable medium having recorded thereon computerexecutable instructions. The electronic device has an operating system,and the computer executable instructions include computer executableinstructions for receiving a request to lock the device, computerexecutable instructions for setting a lock indicator to establish thelocked state of the device, and computer executable instructions forassociating permitted task information with a locked state of thedevice. The computer executable instructions also include computerexecutable instructions for receiving a user request to activate aselected task, computer executable instructions for identifying thelocked state of the device, and computer executable instructions forreading the permitted task information and determining whether theselected task is permitted based upon the permitted task informationand, if so, activating the selected task.

Other aspects and features of the present application will be apparentto those of ordinary skill in the art from a review of the followingdetailed description when considered in conjunction with the drawings.

The following description of one or more specific embodiments does notlimit the implementation to any particular computer programming languageor system architecture. Moreover, the present application may beembodied within a variety of user devices, including mobile devices,handheld devices, mobile telephones, personal digital assistants (PDAs)and other such devices. In some embodiments, the present application maybe implemented in stationary devices, like desktop computers. Referencesherein to a “device” are meant to encompass all such possibilities.

Portions of the method and device described herein may be implemented insoftware. In this regard, the description below makes reference to manysoftware elements that may be labeled as “modules”, “components”, etc.It will be appreciated that some of the described modules, components,programming objects, etc., or other software elements herein may in somecases be implemented together as a single module, component,application, subroutine, object, etc., or separately, and the preciseimplementation is a matter of design choice. It will also be appreciatedthat in many cases the described modules or components may beimplemented within the operating system itself, but are shown separatelyfor ease of discussion. References to a module or component or othersoftware element are not intended to limit the nature of the computerprogramming implementation.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that any references below to a“window” in a display or the opening of a “window” are meant in thegeneric sense of a task window in a graphical user interface and are notintended to imply any association with the Microsoft Corporation or withthe Microsoft Windows™ operating system marketed by MicrosoftCorporation. The present application is not intended to be limited toparticular types of operating systems and in particular to any MicrosoftWindows™ operating system.

Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exampleembodiment of a user device 10. In the example embodiment, the userdevice is a two-way mobile communication device 10 having data andpossibly also voice communication capabilities. In an exampleembodiment, the device 10 has the capability to communicate with othercomputer systems via a network. Depending on the functionality providedby the device 10, in various embodiments the device may be a datacommunication device, a multiple-mode communication device configuredfor both data and voice communication, a mobile telephone, a PDA enabledfor wireless communication, or a computer system with a wireless modem,among other things.

In this embodiment, the device 10 includes a communication subsystem 11.In one embodiment, the communication subsystem 11 may include areceiver, a transmitter, and associated components such as one or more,preferably embedded or internal, antenna elements, and a processingmodule such as a digital signal processor (DSP). As will be apparent tothose skilled in the field of communications, the particular design ofthe communication subsystem 11 will be dependent upon the communicationnetwork in which the device 10 is intended to operate.

Signals received by the device 10 from a wireless communication network50 are input to the receiver of the communication subsystem 11, whichmay perform such common receiver functions as signal amplification,frequency down-conversion, filtering, channel selection and the like. Ina similar manner, signals to be transmitted are processed, includingmodulation and encoding for example, by the DSP and input to thetransmitter for digital to analog conversion, frequency up conversion,filtering, amplification and transmission over the wirelesscommunication network 50.

The device 10 includes a microprocessor 38 that controls the overalloperation of the device. The microprocessor 38 interacts with thecommunications subsystem 11 and also interacts with further devicesubsystems such as a graphics subsystem 44, flash memory 24, randomaccess memory (RAM) 26, auxiliary input/output (I/O) subsystems 28,serial port 30, keyboard or keypad 32, speaker 34, microphone 36, ashort-range communications subsystem 40, and any other device subsystemsgenerally designated as 42. The graphics subsystem 44 interacts with thedisplay 22 and renders graphics or text upon the display 22.

Operating system software 52 and various software applications 54 usedby the microprocessor 38 are, in one example embodiment, stored in apersistent store such as flash memory 24 or similar storage element.Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the operating system 52,software applications 54, or parts thereof, may be temporarily loadedinto a volatile store such as RAM 26. It is contemplated that receivedcommunication signals may also be stored to RAM 26.

The microprocessor 38, in addition to its operating system functions,preferably enables execution of software applications 54 on the device.A predetermined set of software applications 54 which control basicdevice operations, including data and voice communication applicationsfor example, will normally be installed on the device 10 duringmanufacture. Further software applications 54 may also be loaded ontothe device 10 through the network 50, an auxiliary I/O subsystem 28,serial port 30, short-range communications subsystem 40 or any othersuitable subsystem 42, and installed by a user in the RAM 26 or anon-volatile store for execution by the microprocessor 38.

In a data communication mode, a received signal such as a text messageor Web page download will be processed by the communication subsystem 11and input to the microprocessor 38, which will preferably furtherprocess the received signal for output to the display 22 through thegraphics subsystem 44, or alternatively to an auxiliary I/O device 28. Auser of device 10 may also compose data items within a softwareapplication 54, such as email messages for example, using the keyboard32 in conjunction with the display 22 and possibly an auxiliary I/Odevice 28 such as, for example, a thumbwheel. Such composed items maythen be transmitted over a communication network through thecommunication subsystem 11.

The serial port 30 in FIG. 1 would normally be implemented in a personaldigital assistant (PDA)-type communication device for whichsynchronization with a users desktop computer (not shown) may bedesirable, but is an optional device component. Such a port 30 wouldenable a user to set preferences through an external device or softwareapplication and would extend the capabilities of the device by providingfor information or software downloads to the device 10 other thanthrough a wireless communication network.

A short-range communications subsystem 40 is a further component whichmay provide for communication between the device 10 and differentsystems or devices, which need not necessarily be similar devices. Forexample, the subsystem 40 may include an infrared device and associatedcircuits and components or a Bluetooth™ communication module to providefor communication with similarly enabled systems and devices. The device10 may be a handheld device.

Wireless mobile network 50 is, in an example embodiment, a wirelesspacket data network, (e.g. Mobitex™ or DataTAC™), which provides radiocoverage to mobile devices 10. Wireless mobile network 50 may also be avoice and data network such as GSM (Global System for MobileCommunication) and GPRS (General Packet Radio System), CDMA (CodeDivision Multiple Access), or various other third generation networkssuch as EDGE (Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution) or UMTS (UniversalMobile Telecommunications Systems).

The device 10 shown in FIG. 1 further includes a task change module ortask changer for receiving a user request to change the active task. Inone aspect, the task changer receives the user request to change theactive task and initiates an operating system-level instruction totrigger the task change in response to the user request. Exampleembodiments of such a task change module include a task switcher 56 anda window launcher 58.

The task switcher 56 may respond to requests to change from one opentask to another open task. In one example, the task switcher 56 mayinitiate changes in the active window shown on a display in response touser requests. For example, two application programs may be open in twoseparate windows within the display, an active window being layered ontop of an inactive window. In another example, a single applicationprogram or multiple instances of a single application program may resultin two or more open windows, only one of which is active at a giventime. User input and interaction is with the active window and,therefore, its associated application is the active application. Tochange the active application or window, a user may initiate a taskchange request. By way of example, in a Microsoft Windows™ operatingsystem environment, a task change may be requested through a mouse clickupon a button on a task bar showing the available open windows.Alteratively, a user may change the active window by depressing theAlt-key and Tab-key at the same time. In another example, a user mayinitiate a task change by attempting to minimize, close or exit from awindow, thereby switching the active window to the “next” open window(or the ‘desktop’ if no open windows remain).

The window launcher 58 responds to user requests to initiate a new task.In particular, in one embodiment the window launcher 58 initiates a newinstance of an application program in response to a user request. Thelaunch of a new instance of an application program results in theopening of a new window and the designation of the newly opened windowas the active window in the display. The window launcher 58 may also beused by an active application program to start a new task. For example,within a word processing program a user request to open a new documentor an existing document causes the launch of a new window. Similarly,within an e-mail messaging program, clicking on a message in an “inbox”view launches a new window for displaying the selected message. Withinthe displayed message, selection of a “reply” or “forward” button ormenu item launches yet another window for composing the reply or forwardmessage.

In another aspect, references to a task changer or task change moduleare intended to encompass the object or software element at anapplication level or operating system level for initiating instructionsto execute an operation within a specific application. For example, inan e-mail application, a user may request a certain function likeforwarding a message, replying to a message, opening a message, throughan appropriate user input (like clicking on a designated icon). The taskchanger is the software object or element that responds to that userinput to execute or implement the requested operation or task. The taskchanger typically calls an application programming interface (API)instruction to implement or execute the requested function.

The term “task change” or “task changer” as used herein is meant toencompass both a change in the active window as between two or more openwindows, and the launch or opening of a new window. In some embodiments,it is also meant to encompass selection of a specific operation withinan application, where the operation implements an application-specificfeature.

The task switcher 56 and/or window launcher 58 may include a lockingcomponent 60. The locking component 60 enables a user to place thedevice in a locked state, thereby preventing task changes, or limitingthe permitted task changes. For example, in one embodiment, in a lockedstate the user will be unable to change the active window or open a newwindow. In another embodiment, the user may be permitted to change theactive window to other open windows, but may be prevented from launchingnew windows. In yet another embodiment, the locked state may beassociated with a set of permitted tasks or a set of impermissibletasks, and the requested change may be evaluated to determine whether itis permitted.

In some embodiments, the device 10 may further include stored profiledata 62. The profile data 62 may define the permitted and/orimpermissible tasks associated with a locked state. In one embodiment,the profile data 62 may include permitted application programs. Forexample, the profile data 62 may list a phone application program and/orvarious games application programs but may not include an e-mail ormessaging application, word processing applications, and/orsystems-level applications such as control panel or uninstallfacilities. In a locked state the user can only activate one of thepermitted programs included in the profile data 62. Those skilled in theart will appreciate that rather than indicating permitted applications,the profile data 62 may indicate the impermissible applications.

In another embodiment, the profile data 62 may contain user profiles,where each user profile has an associated predefined set of permittedtasks or applications. For example, one profile may lock the user into avoice call application program. Another profile may only permit the userto activate games programs. Yet another profile may lock the device tothe then-active window open on the device. This latter type of lock maybe useful when reading an e-mail message opened in the active window,thereby allowing the user to scroll through the message, but preventingaccess to other e-mail messages on the device and/or preventingforwarding or replying to the e-mail message being viewed.

In yet another embodiment, the profile data 62 may include a dynamiclist of permitted applications that may be selected by the user whenlocking the device 10. In this embodiment, the user has the ability tocustom select the permitted applications and/or tasks for a particularlocked state. For example, the locking component 60 may provide the userwith a picklist of application programs from which to select one or morepermitted applications and the user's selections may be stored in theprofile data 62.

In yet a further embodiment, the profile data 62 may indicate permittedtasks within an application program. For example, within a voice callprogram the permitted tasks may include answering calls and initiatingemergency calls, but may prevent initiating non-emergency voice calls oraccess to voicemail. In another example, within an e-mail applicationprogram the profile data 62 may permit opening messages, which mayinvolve the opening of a new window, but may not permit the sending ofmessages or the moving of or deletion of messages. It will beappreciated that implementing an embodiment of the present applicationwherein permitted tasks may be specific to operations or functionswithin an application program may require that portions of the lockingcomponent 60 be implemented within the application program itself.

Reference is now made to FIG. 2, which diagrammatically shows anarchitecture 100 of one embodiment of a mobile device providing forsecure sharing. The architecture 100 includes the operating system 52that serves as a platform for running the software applications 54(shown individually as 54 a, 54 b, 54 c). The operating system 52 alsomanages the receipt of input signals from user input devices such as thekeyboard 32, auxiliary I/O ports 28, and/or other such device subsystems42. It also manages the output of data to the display 22 for renderingwindows and other display elements.

The architecture 100 may include the task switcher 56 and/or the windowlauncher 58. FIG. 2 shows the locking component 60 within each of thetask switcher 56 and the window launcher 58, although it will beappreciated that this component may be implemented as a separate moduleor component.

The task switcher 56 and window launcher 58 may, in some situations,communicate with the operating system 52 through a process control layer64. The process control layer 64 provides application programminginterfaces (APIs) for directing the operating system 52 to implementtask change operations. The process control layer 64 may further managethe lock state of the device 10 and enforce profile-related permissionswhile the device 10 is in a locked state. Accordingly, the processcontrol layer 64 may read or query the profile data 62.

By way of example, a basic API call for changing the active window maytake the form:ActivateWindow (windowID)

where the windowID parameter specifies the window to be made active. Insome contexts, the windowID parameter may refer to an applicationprogram and in some other contexts the windowID parameter may refer to aspecific window out of two or more windows associated with anapplication program. The precise format and use of the API may bedependent upon the operating system, as will be appreciated by thoseskilled in the art.

The process control layer 64 may provide a lock-enabled API forrequesting task changes while the device 10 is in a locked state. Such alock-enabled API call may take the form:ActivateWindow (windowID, password)

where the password argument is obtained by the locking component 60 fromuser input through the keyboard 32 or keypad.

The process control layer 64 may be configured to prevent the taskswitcher 56 and/or window launcher 58 from calling certain basic APIs inthe event that the device 10 is in a locked state. If the device 10 isin a locked state, then the process control layer 64 may first determinewhether the proposed task change is permitted or not by consulting theprofile data 62. If the task is permitted, then the process controllayer 64 may pass the API call to the operating system 52. If it is notpermitted, the process control layer 64 may fail the API call, i.e.refuse the requested task change. The failure of the requested taskchange may prompt the locking component 60 to obtain user authorizationto unlock the device 10 in order to allow the requested task change tooccur. For example, the locking component 60 may then recognize thenecessity of using a lock-enabled API for implementing the requestedtask change.

It will be appreciated that the process control layer 64 may need towatch for a number of API calls to determine whether they should bepermitted while in a locked state. For example, a request to minimize awindow (thereby possibly changing the active window), a request to closea window (and thereby change the active window), a request to launch aninstance of a new application, and requests to open a new window withinan active application are all possible API calls that may be monitoredby the process control layer 64.

A front view of the display 22 of one embodiment of the mobile device 10having sharing security is shown in FIG. 3. The display 22 is filledwith an active window that includes a header 70 or status bar situatedat the top of the window. The window may include a scrollable portion74. The header 70 may include an exit or close button 80 for closing outthe window, a toggle button 82 to alternate between the full view shownand a tiled view in which the window only occupies a portion of thedisplay 22, and a minimize button 84 for shrinking the current windowand bringing another window forward as the active window. In oneembodiment, the header 70 may further include a lock indicator 86 toindicate that the device 10 is in a locked state. In yet anotherembodiment, a user may click upon the lock indicator 86 to trigger thelocking component 60 to bring up a user authorization window forunlocking the device 10 or altering the profile data 62.

Reference is now made to FIG. 4, which shows, in flowchart form, anembodiment of a method 101 for locking a device for sharing purposes.The method 101 begins in step 102 with the receipt of a lock request.The lock request input may come from the user through the selection of alock option on a pull-down menu, a key combination, clicking a lockicon, or in any other manner in which the user may input a lock request.

In step 104, upon receipt of the lock request, the locking component 60(FIG. 2) determines whether the device is already in a locked state.This may be indicated by a flag or other mechanism that the lockingcomponent 60 may check. In some embodiments, the locking component 60may query the process control layer 64 as to the state of the device.

If the device is already in a locked state, then the lock request isfailed. If the device is in an unlocked state, then the method 101continues to step 106. At step 106, the locking component 60 launches anauthorization window. Through the authorization window, the lockingcomponent 60 receives password input, as indicated in step 108. Theauthorization window may prompt the user to input a password. Thepassword may be requested twice to confirm accuracy if the password isbeing established for the first time instead of being compared againstan existing password. Although not shown in FIG. 4, in some embodimentsthe password must match an existing password stored in memory on thedevice and associated with an authorized user of the device. In such anembodiment, an incorrect password may fail the operation and the method101 may be discontinued.

In step 110, the user may designate permissible and/or impermissibletasks associated with the locked state. In one embodiment, thisdesignation is automated and the user does not actively select thepermitted tasks. In another embodiment, the user selects a “lockprofile”, wherein each lock profile has an associated set of permissibletasks. An example lock profile may be “friend” profile that allowsaccess to games, Internet browser, voice call applications, etc., butblocks the user from applications such as instant messaging, e-mail,and/or systems applications. In yet another embodiment, the user selectsindividual applications or tasks that the user wishes to permit whilelocked. In this latter case, the selected applications or tasks may bestored as a current profile or current permitted tasks within theprofile data 62.

In step 112, based upon the permitted tasks established in step 110, thedevice evaluates whether the current active task or application is apermitted task or application. If not, then in step 116, the user isprompted to close the task or application prior to locking the device.If the user elects not to close the impermissible task, then step 118cancels the lock request and exits the method 101. Otherwise, step 118leads back to step 112 once the task is closed to evaluate whether thenew current active task (if any) is a permitted task. It will beappreciated that in some embodiments the method 101 may include anautomated maximizing of the current active task so that the windowassociated with the current active task fills the display 22, therebypreventing unauthorized reading of any windows that may be tiledunderneath the active window and which may not be permitted tasks. Themaximization of window size may occur in step 110 or following step 112,or elsewhere in the method 101.

Assuming that the current active task, if any, is a permitted task, thenthe method 101 continues in step 114, wherein the device is placed in alocked state. This may, in some embodiments, involve instructing theprocess control layer 64 to lock the device 10, which may includesetting a lock flag or other indicator.

Reference is now made to FIG. 5, which shows, in flowchart form, anembodiment of a method 120 for managing task change requests in a lockeddevice. The method 120 begins with the receipt of a task change requestin step 122. The task change request may come from a variety of sources,as discussed above. For example, the user may attempt to launch a newapplication from a start menu or icon. The user may also attempt to opena new window by selecting an operation within an application thatresults in the launch of a new window. In yet another example, the usermay attempt to switch between two open windows, thereby changing theactive window. This latter circumstance may arise from a keycombination, like Alt-Tab, selecting the other window from a menu ortask bar, or minimizing or closing the current active window. Othercircumstances that may give rise to receipt of a task change requestwill be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art.

In step 124, the device evaluates whether it is in a locked state. Ifnot, then the device implements the task change at step 126. If thedevice is in a locked state, then in step 128 the requested task changeis evaluated to determine whether it is a permitted task. If the taskchange is a permitted task, then the method 120 proceeds to step 126 toimplement the requested task change.

If the task is not permitted, then at step 130 an authorization windowis displayed to the user. The authorization window may prompt the userto input a password or other authorization data. In some embodiments,the user may be required to input biometric data, such as a fingerprint,retinal scan, voice sample, or other such data, through an appropriateI/O device. At step 132, the device receives the input data, such as apassword, and at step 134 the input data is validated. This step mayinvolve comparing the input data with stored authorization data, such asa password. If the input data is not validated, then in step 136 afailure message or signal may be output and the user may be prompted tore-attempt his or her input. Accordingly, the method may return to step132 (or, alternatively, step 130). If the user is unable to input avalid password or other authorization data, then the user may cancel thetask change request and exit the method 120. In some embodiments, theuser may be limited to a maximum number of attempts, and the device mayhave a lock-down or erasure policy associated with more than the maximumnumber of unsuccessful attempts to unlock the device, as will beunderstood by those skilled in the art.

If the data is validated in step 134, then the method 120 proceeds tostep 138, whereupon the device is unlocked. In some embodiments,unlocking the device may involve resetting a flag or other lockindicator. The method 120 then proceeds to step 126 where the requestedchange is implemented.

In another embodiment, step 138 does not involve disabling the lockedstate of the device. One possibility is that the successful validationof the input data in step 134 leads to a one-time authorization of theoperation or task change, despite the locked state. It will beappreciated that any subsequent attempt to change from a permitted taskto this requested task will necessitate re-authorization. Anotherpossibility is that the successful validation of the input data in step134 may lead to a modification to the permitted tasks stored in theprofile data. The user may be presented with a dialog box or window thatasks whether the user would like to make the requested task one of thepermitted tasks for the locked state. If the locked state is associatedwith a specific user profile, then the user profile may be updated toadd the requested task as a permitted task. Other possibilities will beapparent to those of ordinary skill in the art.

Reference is now made to FIG. 6, which shows, in flowchart form, anembodiment of a method 140 of managing task change requests in a lockeddevice. The task change request is received in step 142. The task changerequest may be handled by the task changer, which may in someembodiments include the task switcher 56 (FIG. 2) and/or the windowlauncher 58 (FIG. 2). Either of these modules may call an API toinstruct the operating system 52 (FIG. 2) to change the task as shown instep 144. This task change API call may be initially evaluated by theprocess control layer 64 (FIG. 2), at step 146. The process controllayer 64 assesses whether the device is locked in step 146. If not, thenit passes the task change request to the operating system 52 forimplementation, as shown in step 148.

If the device is found to be locked in step 146, for example by checkinga flag or other lock indicator, then in step 150 the process controllayer 64 checks the profile data 62 (FIG. 2) to determine whether therequested task change is a permitted task change. This evaluation as towhether the task is permitted, as shown in step 152, may be based uponthe identity of the application program requested, the type of task oroperation being performed, or other factors. If the task is found to bepermissible, then the method 140 continues to step 148, whereupon thetask change API call is passed through to the operating system 52 forimplementation of the requested change.

If the task is impermissible, then in step 152 the process control layer64 may return a call failure message to the task switcher 56 or windowlauncher 58, as the case may be. The call failure message may berecognized by the locking component 60 (FIG. 2) as an indication thatthe device is locked and that the requested task change is impermissibleaccording to the profile data 62 associated with the current lock state.Accordingly, in step 156, the locking component 60 launches anauthorization window to prompt the user to provide input authorizationdata, such as a password. Through the authorization window, the lockingcomponent 60 receives user input in step 158. As noted above, in somecases, the input may be biometric. In many embodiments, the user inputmay be a password string.

In step 160, the task switcher 56 or window launcher 58 re-requests thetask change, but in this instance the request includes the inputauthorization data obtained in step 158. For example, the task changeAPI may include the authorization (e.g. password) data as an argument inthe call. This API call having password data is received by the processcontrol layer 64 in step 160 and the password argument is evaluated todetermine whether it is valid. If the password is validated, then instep 164 the lock state may be disabled and the method 140 proceeds tostep 148 to implement the requested task change. Otherwise, a passwordfailure message may be displayed in step 162 and the user may be givenanother opportunity to input the password in step 160. Those skilled inthe art will appreciated that certain limits may be imposed upon thenumber of attempts to enter a correct password.

Reference is now made to FIG. 7, which diagrammatically shows anarchitecture 200 of one embodiment of a mobile device providing forsecure sharing. This embodiment provides forapplication-feature-specific secure sharing through implementation ofsome or all aspects of the secure sharing within a specific application,i.e. at the application level. Those skilled in the art will appreciatethat this embodiment involves implementation within the applicationitself, and therefore involves coding and re-compiling of theapplication program; whereas the above-described embodiments wereapplication-independent and were implemented at the operating systemlevel. By way of non-limiting example, the application 54 may be ane-mail application program.

The application 54 includes a lock module 260 for managing userinterface with the locking operation. For example, the lock module 260may generate a user authorization interface for receiving user passwordinput, as described above.

The application 54 also includes a process control module 264 forrecognizing the state of the device as locked or unlocked and forenforcing the lock restrictions with respect to specific tasks oroperations. The profile data 62, which may be loaded into RAM memory orstored in permanent memory, may contain a set of permitted orimpermissible tasks or operations. As discussed in greater detail above,the set of permitted or impermissible tasks or operations may beassociated with pre-defined user profiles or may be specified by theauthorized user during the locking process.

In one example embodiment, the application 54 is an e-mail applicationprogram. The impermissible tasks or operations may include, for example,forwarding, replying to, composing, opening, deleting, moving, orotherwise dealing with messages. In will be appreciated that theseimpermissible operations or tasks may not necessarily require theopening of a new window on the display, so the task switcher 56 orwindow launcher 58 may not necessarily be involved in executing theoperation.

The user may request or initiate the operation or task by selecting amenu item, clicking an icon associated with the operation, or otherwiseproviding user input to trigger the operation. In one embodiment, theAPI for executing the requested operation is customized to call a lockverification API, which causes the process control module 264 toevaluate the lock state of the device, the requested operation, and thepermitted or impermissible tasks to determine whether to authorize theoperation or instruct the lock module 260 to obtain authorization input.If the latter, then the authorization input is then verified, either bythe lock module 260 or the process control module 264, and if verifiedthe process control module 264 allows execution of the requestedoperation. As discussed above, verification of the authorization inputfor enabling an otherwise-impermissible operation may result in aone-time permission of the operation, a change to the permitted tasks,or a disabling of the lock state.

Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that a number of the stepsdescribed in the foregoing methods may be performed contemporaneously,or in an alternative order, without significantly affecting theoperation of the method, depending upon the implementation. Variousalternative implementations will be understood by those personsordinarily skilled in the field of computer programming.

The teachings of the present application may be embodied in otherspecific forms without departing from the spirit or essentialcharacteristics thereof. Certain adaptations and modifications will beobvious to those skilled in the art. The above discussed embodiments areconsidered to be illustrative and not restrictive.

1. A method of securing an electronic device to enable a user to sharethe device with another person, the device having an operating system,the method comprising the steps of: receiving a request to lock thedevice, setting a lock indicator to establish the locked state of thedevice; associating permitted task information with a locked state ofthe device, receiving a user request to activate a selected task;identifying the locked state of the device; and reading said permittedtask information and determining whether said selected task is permittedbased upon said permitted task information and, if so, activating saidselected task.
 2. The method claimed in claim 1, wherein, if said stepof determining determines that said selected task is not permitted, theninvoking an authorization process to receive a user input, verifyingsaid user input, and, if verified, activating said selected task.
 3. Themethod claimed in claim 1, further including a step of calling a taskchange application programming interface (API) without an authorizationargument, and generating a call failure in response to said task changeAPI if said device is identified as being in a locked state, and whereinsaid step of verifying includes calling said task change API with saiduser input as said authorization argument, and validating said userinput.
 4. The method claimed in claim 3, wherein said task change APIincludes a task argument, said task argument indicating said selectedtask.
 5. The method claimed in claim 3, wherein said task change API isselected from a group consisting of an active window change API, awindow resizing API, a window minimizing API, a window launch API, andan application launch API.
 6. The method claimed in claim 1, whereinsaid step of associating includes designating a user profile, said userprofile being associated with said permitted task information.
 7. Themethod claimed in claim 6, wherein said step of designating said userprofile includes selecting said user profile from a plurality of userprofiles, each of said user profiles having associated permitted taskinformation.
 8. The method claimed in claim 1, wherein said step ofassociating said permitted task information with said locked stateincludes selecting one or more tasks from a list of available tasks. 9.The method claimed in claim 1, wherein said permitted task informationincludes information identifying permitted tasks said user may engage inwhile said device is in said locked state.
 10. The method claimed inclaim 1, wherein said steps of identifying and determining are performedat an operating system level.
 11. The method claimed in claim 1, whereinsaid permitted tasks includes application-specific operations, andwherein said steps of identifying and determining are performed at anapplication program level.
 12. An electronic device, the device having alocked state and an unlocked state, the device comprising: a main bodyhousing a user input device, a display, memory, and a processoroperatively coupled to said user input device, said display and saidmemory; an operating system running on said processor for managing inputand output through said user input device and said display and providinga platform for operation of application programs, wherein said operatingsystem is configured to receive a user request to change to a selectedtask; a locking component for receiving a request to lock the device,setting a lock indicator to establish the locked state of the device,and associating permitted task information with the locked state of thedevice; and a task request component for identifying that the device isin the locked state and for determining whether said selected task ispermitted based upon the permitted task information and, if so,activating said selected task.
 13. The electronic device claimed inclaim 12, wherein said locking component is configured to invoke anauthorization process to receive user input if said task requestcomponent determines that said selected task is not permitted, verifysaid user input, and, if verified, activate said selected task.
 14. Theelectronic device claimed in claim 12, wherein said task requestcomponent includes a process control layer for receiving said calledtask change API and, if the device is in the locked state, determiningwhether said permitted task information includes said selected task and,if not, sending said locking component a failure message in response tothe task change API.
 15. The electronic device claimed in claim 14,wherein said locking component is configured to launch an authorizationprocess to receive user input and call a further task change API,wherein said further task change API includes said user input as anargument, and wherein said process control layer verifies said argumentand passes said further task change API to said operating system forimplementation if said argument is verified.
 16. The electronic deviceclaimed in claim 14, wherein said task change API is selected from agroup consisting of an active window change API, a window resizing API,a window minimizing API, a window launch API, and an application launchAPI.
 17. The electronic device claimed in claim 12, wherein said memorystores a plurality of user profiles, each user profile having anassociated set of permitted tasks, and wherein said locking component isconfigured to associate the locked state with said permitted taskinformation in response to user selection of one of said user profiles.18. The electronic device claimed in claim 12, wherein said lockingcomponent includes a component for receiving user designation of one ormore tasks from a list of available tasks as permitted or impermissibletasks, and wherein said permitted task information comprises said userdesignated tasks.
 19. The electronic device claimed in claim 12, whereinsaid task request component is implemented within said operating system.20. The electronic device claimed in claim 12, wherein said permittedtasks include application-specific operations and wherein said taskrequest component is implemented within an application program.
 21. Acomputer program product for securing an electronic device to enable auser to share the device with another person, the computer programproduct comprising a computer-readable medium having recorded thereoncomputer executable instructions, said electronic device having anoperating system and said computer executable instructions comprising:computer executable instructions for receiving a request to lock thedevice, computer executable instructions for setting a lock indicator toestablish the locked state of the device; computer executableinstructions for associating permitted task information with a lockedstate of the device, computer executable instructions for receiving auser request to activate a selected task; computer executableinstructions for identifying the locked state of the device; andcomputer executable instructions for reading said permitted taskinformation and determining whether said selected task is permittedbased upon said permitted task information and, if so, activating saidselected task.
 22. The computer program product claimed in claim 21,wherein, if said computer executable instructions for determiningdetermine that said selected task is not permitted, then furthercomputer executable instructions invoke an authorization process toreceive a user input, verify said user input, and, if verified, activatesaid selected task.
 23. The computer program product claimed in claim21, further including computer executable instructions for calling atask change application programming interface (API) without anauthorization argument, and computer executable instructions forgenerating a call failure in response to said task change API if saiddevice is identified as being in a locked state, and wherein saidcomputer executable instructions for verifying include computerexecutable instructions for calling said task change API with said userinput as said authorization argument, and validating said user input.24. The computer program product claimed in claim 23, wherein said taskchange API includes a task argument, said task argument indicating saidselected task.
 25. The computer program product claimed in claim 23,wherein said task change API is selected from a group consisting of anactive window change API, a window resizing API, a window minimizingAPI, a window launch API, and an application launch API.
 26. Thecomputer program product claimed in claim 21, wherein said computerexecutable instructions for associating include computer executableinstructions for designating a user profile, said user profile beingassociated with said permitted task information.
 27. The computerprogram product claimed in claim 26, wherein said computer executableinstructions for designating said user profile include computerexecutable instructions for selecting said user profile from a pluralityof user profiles, each of said user profiles having associated permittedtask information.
 28. The computer program product claimed in claim 21,wherein said computer executable instructions for associating saidpermitted task information with said locked state include computerexecutable instructions for selecting one or more tasks from a list ofavailable tasks.
 29. The computer program product claimed in claim 21,wherein said permitted task information includes information identifyingpermitted tasks said user may engage in while said device is in saidlocked state.
 30. The computer program product claimed in claim 21,wherein said computer executable instructions for identifying anddetermining are implemented at an operating system level.
 31. Thecomputer program product claimed in claim 21, wherein said permittedtasks include application-specific operations, and wherein said computerexecutable instructions for identifying and determining are implementedat an application program level.